System, method, and computer program product for calculating withdrawal amount under guaranteed benefit of investment product using market-based variable rate

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer program products for determining a guaranteed benefit of an investment product include a means for changing an allowable withdrawal amount of the benefit associated with the guarantee based on a market-based interest rate that can be correlated to the hedging cost of the provider in funding the guarantee.

1 . A computer-implemented system for administering an investment product having a guaranteed benefit comprising:
 a physical computer-readable medium including an investment product benefit calculating program; and   a processor adapted to execute the investment product benefit program contained on the physical computer-readable medium;   wherein the investment product program includes a calculating module having computer executable instruction adapted to determine an allowable withdrawal amount of the guaranteed benefit based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating module is adapted to determine the allowable withdrawal amount based upon a fixed component and a variable component that varies based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one interest rate of the calculating module is correlated to the cost of interest rate hedging used to fund the guaranteed benefit. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one interest rate of the calculating module is a U.S. Treasury bond interest rate. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating module is adapted to determine an allowable withdrawal amount rate based upon a formula including at least one publicly-available interest rate. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the calculating module is adapted to determine the allowable withdrawal amount based upon the allowable withdrawal amount rate and an investment product value. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the investment product value comprises at least one of an account value related to actual contributions made to the investment product and a benefit base value related to a predetermined set of conditions of the investment product. 
     
     
         8 . A method for administering an investment product having a guaranteed benefit comprising, employing a processor to execute computer executable instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable medium to perform a step of:
 calculating an allowable withdrawal amount of the guaranteed benefit based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated based upon a fixed component and a variable component that varies based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated using at least one interest rate that is correlated to the cost of interest rate hedging used to fund the guaranteed benefit. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated using a U.S. Treasury bond interest rate. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated using an allowable withdrawal amount rate based upon a formula including at least one publicly-available interest rate and an investment product value. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the investment product value comprises at least one of an account value related to actual contributions made to the investment product and a benefit base value related to a predetermined set of conditions of the investment product. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the computer executable instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable medium perform a step of:
 periodically re-calculating the allowable withdrawal amount based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate prevailing at a designated time in relation to the time of re-calculation.   
     
     
         15 . A tangible computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions for administering an investment product having a guaranteed benefit, the instructions, when executing on one or more computing devices, perform the step of:
 determining an allowable withdrawal amount of the guaranteed benefit is based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated based upon a fixed component and a variable component that varies based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated using at least one interest rate that is correlated to the cost of interest rate hedging used to fund the guaranteed benefit. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated using a U.S. Treasury bond interest rate. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the allowable withdrawal amount is calculated using an allowable withdrawal amount rate based upon a formula including at least one publicly-available interest rate and an investment product value. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the investment product value comprises at least one of an account value related to actual contributions made to the investment product and a benefit base value related to a predetermined set of conditions of the investment product. 
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the computer executable instructions perform a step of:
 periodically re-calculating the allowable withdrawal amount based upon at least one publicly-available interest rate prevailing at a designated time in relation to the time of re-calculation.